The Call of the Beachwick

Chapter 21: An Enemy of the Past

As Aurelia and Edgar walked from the Beachwick into Mythwood, the evening's silence once more settled in the air. Now alone, she started to think about her role as leader, more specifically, how she had to trust in her people to put her plan into motion. It was another first for her. For the longest time, it had been her and her mother, then Kesi. It wasn't that she didn't have friends, and she was grateful of the ones she had, but the three members of her family unconsciously decided they only needed each other. Now that she had the whole of the Sisterhood, everything changed.

It was another hard lesson she had to learn as a leader. People would rely on her and she in turn would have to rely on them. She had to trust in them to carry out their task with competence and dedication as they would have to trust in her to lead with wisdom and compassion. It was a symbiotic relationship. One could not exist without the other as both depended on the other's very existence to survive. The idea of pressing her needs on another scared her a little bit, but the more she pondered what each offered the other, the more she realized unity was their greatest strength.

"We're almost there," said Edgar snapping her attention back to her surroundings. They were just passing the edge of Mythwood and she could see the clinic she had dropped Xara off two days prior. As soon as they passed the gate leading out of the city, they turned north. Aurelia knew the path well, but it was not their destination. As they made it to the tree line, she let out an audible gasp.

There, gently pawing at one of the palm trees was the most beautiful creature Aurelia had ever seen. It was a horse, at least a horse was the best way she could described the grand creature. Large, lavender eyes stared back at her with warmth and kindness as bright as the stars in the night sky. A vivid pink mane and tail adorned with tiny blossoms and delicate petals swayed against a light blue coat covering its whole body. There was no saddle, but had there been, Aurelia would have thought it a travesty upon the creature, as if it would have been a crime against nature.

"Her name's Blossomhoff," Edgar commented as he approached. In his hand, he held out a sugar cube allowing Blossomhoff to close the distance. Having understood little about animals, she wasn't sure if he did this out of fear or reverence.

Perhaps both, she thought.

"Where did you find such a magnificent creature?" she asked.

Edgar scoffed. In the process, he halfway rolled his eyes as if the question wasn't worthy of his attention, then thought it rude. "You don't choose Blossomhoff. She chooses you."

"Oh...How did she choose you?" Despite her desperateness to get to Kesi, she thought Blossomhoof's presence soothing. Instantly, she found her calloused hands subconsciously petting the creature's coat and with their touch, warmth and unconditional love filled her soul. Suddenly, her question which she judged to be a fair and rational question, now seemed silly.

"I suspect you know," Edgar laughed. She almost laughed too. Had she not felt it rude to laugh in Bloossomhoof's presence she might have. Instead, she watched in amazement as the creature bent down on all fours allowing her and Edgar to mount.

"Still, it's amazing," she said as they took off towards the west. She had never ridden a horse, but Blossomhoof moved at a faster rate than she would have expected. As she did, the creature moved silently down the path, whereas Aurelia's own hooves might have clacked against the harden dirt. "To be in her presence all the time, must be a sight to behold."

Even the most nondescript would stick out on her like a soot-covered thumb.

"It's not that kind of relationship. Blossomhoof only comes to me in time of need. In my whole life, this is only the thirty-second time I have found her or she has found me. You must be something special. As far as I know, she has never allowed others to see her before."